


Firelight

by Aloe_kun



Series: First Meetings [2]
Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Fear, Fire, First Meetings, Gen, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Late Night Conversations, Rescue, Sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 14:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18477817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloe_kun/pseuds/Aloe_kun
Summary: Wilson is out in the dark with no light other than a dying torch. Luckily, someone better with the dark is nearby to help.





	Firelight

Willow watched the crackling flames in the campfire, letting it warm her. The nights here were cold, dark and dangerous, but there was little in it she couldn't ward off with a trusty flame. She was quite content, until something caught her eye. It looked like someone running around in the dark, holding a slowly dying torch. She could seethe light getting dimmer, it was almost funny how frantic the other's movements seemed, but the humour quickly faded and was replaced with something more like pity. 

She tried guessing how far away the person was. Judging from the size of what little silhouette she could see, the figure wasn't too far from her own fire, close enough to run to. Standing, she threw a log on the fire to keep it going, before snatching up Sasha and flicking the lighter to life. She paused a second to allow the flame to grow to something that illuminated the space around her, before taking off in what she figured would be the quickest way to the other.

Wilson was terrified. 

No matter how many nights he spent in this hellish landscape, the dark, danger-filled nights never seemed to get any less frightening;  
And they were even worse when you were lost, with little more than a torch to your name. And a dying one, at that. 

He liked to think it wasn't entirely his fault that the coming nighttime had caught him off-gaurd. The blasted darkness had always had a way of creeping up on him, no matter how much attention he paid to the sun's position in the sky. 

(he wasn't entirely convinced that it wasn't because he'd called the darkness a gloomy bastard during one of his first few nights) 

But telling himself it wasn't his fault had little effect on his current predicament, anyway. In his panicked state he hadn't even noticed the fire in the distance, much less the even smaller light that was steadily approaching him. He kept seeing little movements in the corner of his eye, shadowy tendrils and claws, and main reason for his erratic movements was tied to these hallucinations- running in fear from what wasn't there; being constantly redirected by both new visions and real threats.

As Willow approached, she was relived to see the figure was most likely human. Slowing her pace a little bit - she didn't want to frighten the other more- she left about twenty meters between the figure and her when she called out to get the other's attention.

"Hey over here!"

Wilson jumped, cautiously turning to face the sound. He stopped running around for the time being, but kept a distance between them 

After all, Maxwell could be damn cruel when he wanted to be.

"H-hello?"

"Get over here, c'mon!"

Willow waved in a 'come closer' gesture with her free hand. The other's torch was practically out, so it wasn't as if he had much of a choice. He could come over, or let the darkness have him. Willow knew what she'd prefer.

Wilson hesitated for a brief moment, thinking his options over as quickly as he could. 

Willow was right about which he'd decide on. 

He dropped the torch; the smouldering branch was of little use now anyway, its dim light hadn't even been keeping Them at bay properly.   
He was at the young womans side in seconds, mentally thanking every diety he knew of that she'd come along. His heart was racing-   
Even those brief few seconds that he'd spent without light on him had been far, far too long.

"Thank you!"

"No problem, now lets go!"

She took hold of the other's wrist, pulling him along as she quickly began to head back to the fire.

The scientist complied, running a pace behind the other as they made their way back to the fire in the distance. He was so focused on keeping up, he didn't even notice when his hand slipped out of the other survivors hold. 

In fact, he only noticed when They grabbed his ankle, sending him sprawling to the ground with a startled cry. 

He frantically tried to free himself from their grip on his leg, the shadowy tendril stubbornly refusing to let go no matter how hard he kicked. To make it worse, he was left in what was practically complete darkness once separated from his new acquaintance, and he was just waiting for something else to grab him too.

Hearing the cry from behind her, Willow whipped around to see the other struggling on the ground. She quickly returned to the man's side, giving the tendril a solid kick as it began to dissolve in the light. She grabbed the other's upper arm to help haul him to his feet.

Wilson gasped out another thank you, leaning on the other as he stumbled to his feet. He gripped the other's hand tightly as they started to run again, being careful not to let go-   
-or trip.

As they reached the light from the fire, Willow released the other's hand. Now they were in the light, they were safe si long as it didn't go out. She let out a relieved sigh, tossing a log onto the campfire.

"Jeez, that was one hell of an ordeal, huh?"

Wilson nodded. His legs felt a little weak (more than likely because he nearly died ), and he glanced back over his shoulder into the dark. He shuddered to think of what might of happened if his mysterious rescuer hadn't stepped in. 

He had to remember to ask her name, soon.

"Undoubtedly." He chuckled, a nervous slant to it. "Sorry to put you in danger too."

"Eh, doesn't matter. We both got out of it ok, so it's fine."

She took a seat by the fire, patting the ground next to her as she looked happily into the flames in front of her.

Wilson slumped down onto the ground next to her, sighing quietly. Sitting so close to the fire was nice. It was bright. Warm. He held his hands out a little in front of him, feeling the warmth of the flames. 

He turned to the other after a few moments, taking his hands away from the fire to hold one out to the survivor.

"Where are my manners?" He chuckled again, notably less nervous now. "Wilson P. Higgsbury. At your service!"

Willow took the offered hand with a giggle, shaking it surprisingly strongly.

"I'm Willow. It's nice t' meet ya!"

"That's a firm handshake you've got there."

"Heh, thanks!" Willow let go of the other's hand, smiling. "Honestly, I'm just glad to find somebody else out here."

"Likewise." Wilson smiled. "It's a real relief. I thought I was all alone!"

He took another glance over his shoulder into the dark, relieved when all he could see was a few glowflies.   
He turned his gaze to the fire, adjusting his gloves a little. Putting her lighter back in her bag, Willow leant back a little. She wasn't as bothered by the dark, not as long as she had Sasha nearby.

"Yeah, it's good to know." She replied, finally.

"Say, that's a pretty interesting light you have..." Wilson inquired. "Where'd you get it?"

"I've had it for a while, before I came here, even. Can't really remember, it was that long ago." Willow shrugged. She'd probably remember at some point. "It'll come back to me."

Wilson nodded in understanding, looking back from the fire to Willow. 

He froze. 

One of Their tendrils was slowly coiling around her wrist, the one that was closest to the edge of the fire's glow.

"Willow, y-your arm!" He exclaimed.

"Eh?"

Willow looked to the wrong arm, confused, before feeling the sensation of something around the other wrist. Whipping her head around, she quickly tugged her wrist away from the dark, snatching her hand away from the tendrils grip.

"Bloody-" She cut herself off. "I hate those things!"

Willow moved to lay her hands in her lap, away from the edge of the light.

"M-Me too." Wilson scooted a little closer to the light, making sure to keep his hands away from the dark too. "I must say, you handled that very well."

"Wasn't anything special. That's pretty much what I always do."

"Really?" Wilson raised an eyebrow. "With that lighter of yours, I wouldn't have thought you had to deal with the dark an awful lot."

"I don't, really. But when I do get caught in the dark, I get out before it can faze me. But hey, that doesn't really matter."  
Willow looked over to the scientist, raising an eyebrow. "You tired? You sure look it"

As if to prove Willow right, the scientist had stifled a yawn before she had even finished her sentence. Wilson smiled sheepishly, chuckling a little.

"I'm not one to complain, but I haven't slept in a while..."

"You should sleep, then." Willow smiled, tilting her head a little to the side. Surprisingly, she'd slept quite well the previous night, and felt like she could easily stay up. "I'll keep watch."

"Thank you." Wilson honestly felt like he could fall asleep on the spot.

And his guess wasn't far off. He was out almost as soon as he laid down, though he did stay awake long enough to make sure all of his limbs were out of Their reach.

Willow kept watch as promised, gaze flickering between the other and the area around them. As she leant forward to put a log on the fire, she couldn't help but notice Wilson looked veryuncomfortable. Sure, he was asleep, but she doubted he'd be well rested. 

Carefully, so as not to wake the man, Willow shifted to lay Wilson's head in her lap. In her opinion, that looked much more comfortable.

 

 


End file.
